A standing-room-only crowd crammed into the Lake Elmo Inn Event Center on Thursday night with one mission — rehire City Administrator Dean Zuleger.

“How impressive!” Dale Dorschner, a city Planning Commission member, said, gazing over the crowd of about 180 people.

Dorschner and a series of speakers blamed the Lake Elmo City Council for getting rid of Zuleger. The council recently voted to negotiate a severance package that would end Zuleger’s three years as administrator.

The move was supported by council members Anne Smith, Julie Fliflet and Jill Lundgren; it was opposed by Mayor Mike Pearson and council member Justin Bloyer.

At the rally, several speakers mentioned the possibility of seeking the resignations of the three Zuleger opponents.

Former council member Rita Conlin brought a round of applause when she said: “We need nothing less than to ask for the resignation of those three council members.”

As the crowd filed in, almost everyone signed a petition to be presented to the city council. It asks for more civility in city meetings and demands that “the city council retain Dean Zuleger as administrator for a minimum of 18 months.”

The Pioneer Press reported Thursday that a complaint reportedly written by Zuleger charged Smith with harassing him over a two-year period and threatening to fire him on four occasions. It said that three other city employees made similar complaints.

According to Bloyer, Zuleger asked in a Feb. 24 meeting that the “hostile work environment” created by Smith be remedied; otherwise, Zuleger would resign. At the March 10 meeting, the council picked the latter option.

Zuleger, Smith, Fliflet and Lundgren did not respond to emails Thursday asking for comment.

Several speakers said Zuleger had guided the city through difficult times, including the construction of the city’s first sewer system and negotiations to end to an order by the Metropolitan Council regional planning agency to increase the city’s population by 17,000 residents by 2030.

“The city is facing a world of turmoil. Lake Elmo is unbelievable right now,” said John Schiltz, owner of the Lake Elmo Inn. “We are scared about our future.”

Zuleger, he said, was a steady leader in stormy times.

“I have been here 31 years, and I have not seen any administrator like him,” Schiltz said.

He blamed the city council for forcing Zuleger out.

“A hostile work environment — that is what they created. Now we have the potential for the city staff to all walk out,” Schiltz said.

In fact, a step has been taken in that direction. The Park Commission walked out of a meeting Tuesday in protest, and seven commission members attended the meeting Thursday.

“We don’t do Dean’s job reviews, but we are all here tonight,” said Commissioner John Ames.

Park Commissioner Pam Hartley said, “We need to protect Zuleger and his fine staff from any type of harassment.”

Now that the council has voted to part ways with Zuleger, it’s unclear what — if anything — can be done to hire him back.

And recalling city council members is difficult, too, said Planning Commissioner Dorschner. He said that unless an elected official breaks a law, it’s very difficult to remove that person.

Resident Jon Early bemoaned the fact that the city council was unable to unify the city.

“How do we elect people to be leaders? There is a whole lot of polarity in the world, and unfortunately we see a lot of it in Lake Elmo,” Early said.

Resident Milt Klohn praised Zuleger.

“The man is necessary for the future of Lake Elmo. We will not be as good if we get rid of him.”

Added Dorschner: “We are tired of playing the political monkey game. We can’t allow people who have political agendas to jeopardize Lake Elmo.”

Bob is a 40-year veteran (yes, he is grizzled) who edited one Pulitzer Prize winner and wrote two that were nominated. He has also worked in Des Moines, Colorado Springs and Palo Alto. He writes about the suburbs, the environment, housing, religion -- anything but politics. Secret pleasures: Kayaking on the Mississippi on the way to work, doughnuts brought in by someone else. Best office prank: Piling more papers onto Fred Melo’s already trash-covered desk.

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